Analysis and comment from Memphis, Tennessee, on media, politics, culture, science, my life and anything else that catches my eye.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Memphis Blog Coverage

Thanks to Rachel for posting this Memphis Flyer short article on Memphis bloggers. [Oops! Seems Dr. Abby's also had it up.] There was a bloggers bash (no apostrophe, y'all) a couple of weeks ago and Chris was there to hang out. It's actually the most coverage the Memphis blog scene has ever gotten in local media!

I missed it mostly by choice, as I've been frustrated by the low attendance (But high quality! Don't get me wrong, OK?) of previous bashes. I chose to sit this one out. I also play Epic: Armageddon at the Battle Bunker on Wednesdays now with real-life buddy Mark. But we got through early, so we stopped by to see if anyone was still there. We caught Dr. Abby and Trisha as they were leaving.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for any local media outlet to do a serious story on the Memphis blog scene. I'll help with research and introductions. You don't even have to mention Half-Bakered if it will get the story on air or into print. I've had my share of media coverage.

The daily newspaper runs blogs now. One of the alt-weekly writers has a blog. Workers at both are regular readers of Memphis blogs. One television station runs it own blogs and another has a group of employees who blog on their own time! Including the news director! Quite a few television employees read blogs, too. Just praise Channel Five or dis Channel Three and watch what happens. So it's not like blogging is some great mystery to these people.

And yet there is not any real coverage. Nashville beats us up yet again. They had their first bloggers bash just a couple of months ago at a television news station. That led to stories and synergy with local bloggers. It also resulted in one Nashville blogger becoming the official staff blogger for that news station! The Nashville alt-weekly started an official blog that has great synergy with the rest of that city's blog scene. They are all figuring out new ways of working together.

Unlike Memphis where there's a strange jealousy from the mainstream media monopoly towards the local blog scene. Notice the Flyer article again. See any URLs in it?

Memphis has an amazing blogosphere. It's varied in almost every way you can imagine, except there are almost no black bloggers for some reason. It's vibrant, funny, enlightening, encompassing and does a spectacular job of showing what life in the City of Good Commodes is like. It's maybe a bit too honest for the rah-rah mainstream media here, but so what?